The Day God Attacked

If life, twenty-five years worth of time, unbounded, ever reaching for the distant future, can flash before our eyes, why did this single moment linger for eternity? Silver as the underbelly of this self proclaimed God, her hair fluttered, covering her enduring face.

My hero fell to the dust covered Earth.

  I was six, two years away from becoming a man. Trudging through the dust covered lands as a hover car stopped and landed. It's been long, but, I had no hope it was them.

"Now boy, you haven't eaten have you?" A man stood over me with a girl at his side. I shivered with fear, promising myself I won't cry, when they attack, I won't cry.

"Papa, is he okay?" My eyes widened as I fell back from his reach, ready to kick him, hands guarding my head.

"Hmm... he is from far North, Vivvy, look, his arms?" I laid, breathing calmly as the girl examined me, watching for an opening to attack.

"Oh, they look twitchy. Like worms."

"Boy, what is your name?"

This man's colorless smile, brought life to his Grey eyes. Something told me he was no threat. But the situation I was in now happened when I felt safe, even as their craft flew home, I thought... they'll come back.

"Let me... go." The words clawed their way through my dried throat.

"Listen, why not come with us. Hunger makes you resemble one of the scrappers. The order forbid, someone mistook you for a storm dweller. Boy, your eyes are nearly pure white, your lips, your hair, you need sustenance." The man extended a hand, and scratched the back of his head with the other. "Besides Leader... our leader radioed in, a fungus storm is coming, you won't survive... What is your name?"

I laid glaring at him when the girl's movement caught my attention.

"Hey, my Papa asked you what your name was twice, mister." She clung to the man, one hand on her hip, one on his leg.

"I, I'm Klaydon, Klaydon Dominance." Relaxing, I stood with no attempt at accepting his hand.

"Mmm, Ryne," the man grumbled and pointed to himself, "this little monkey wrench is Vivianna. We are with Bulruck..." He stared into the distance. "Did they abandon you?" His colorless eyes reflecting the sun aimed towards the direction I avoided, where... they went, almost 10 days ago.

I blinked, before I could stop it, I blinked. No! Why was I so weak? Everytime I blink when I am flustered, these eyes leak. I hid my face behind my hands, I can't be weak, I can't let them see me cry.

"Now boy, our eyes may have lost their color ages ago, but tears are just as easy to catch..." He signed deeply. "I can relate. We've stumbled cross many from your city. Damned infant manipulators."

"Papa, you said a bad word. You idiot." The little girl pointed a finger at the man. Her motion sent a glint into my teary pupils, on her neck, there was something catching the white sun.

A heart-shaped silver locket. "Sorry Vivvy. Now boy, take my hand, let's get you to the right people. My people."

No. I don't care about humanity, they were as lifeless as the color of our eyes, of our hair. I knocked his hand aside shoving my way forward, but a dizziness made me stumble. I've lived off of the small rations they left me, walked till the sun blistered my white skin.

Why now, why did I cry now, why did I fail to make my own way alone, now?

Years later, Vivanna and her father won my heart, and we became Burlock's most important crew. An annual battle between cities was held where we challenged who could mine the most ores, and survive the most battles with their technology against the storm dwellers.

The order watched over us, taking note of our achievements and rewarded us according to our merits. 30 days after the last games, dozens of metallic messenger drones clouded our city skies. They claimed the floating steel God has risen. They claimed it only wanted our worship, in return it offered paradise.

We fought, or, we tried to fight that machine. Now, I watched as the world slowed to a crawl, as the world fell towards the dust.

The wind from the boosting hover car ruptured my eardrums, we had to boost, to avoid the steel rod larger than a man's arm span that shot just inches past us.

The day it threatened us into servitude, we thought, "you're messing with the Bulruck, our city bested every other." And we did, no other could gather, plan, or fight like we did. But it continued it's languid journey, and here, I say goodbye to the girl I loved, a goodbye lasting a lifetime.

She quickly brushed her hair away and looked around till we locked determined eyes. She screamed something, pulled the silver, heart-shaped locket from her neck, and tossed it up before being rammed by a burning hover car. It lost control from the giant rod that pierced it in the last barrage from the attacking god.

Time sped up as my screams cramped my throat, and stretched my colorless lips enough to draw blood.

Wait? The locket!

Quick... the multi-tool strapped to my chest, I need to hurry. The wires in my arms gave up their slack. They tensed, pushing against my palm with their thousands of filaments. Their black color showing through my translucent skin. The wires wrapped around the tool as they exited my palm. My brain shot its signals, pull in that metal object. PULL IT IN NOW!

The tool silently hit the car and fell amongst the rushing atmosphere, my left hand clenched to the last thing she touched before departing this world.

"GET IN!" Ryne yelled at me bringing me back to my senses as I pressed that heart-shaped silver locket to my chest, branding it to my soul.

"I will tear you from the skies." That was my solemn promise to the Silver Floating God. The hatch opened, the warning chimes of the car erupted, I laid in the back seat, curling into myself.

As we swerved out of danger, as I lost myself, my mind brought me to the only safe place it could. Someplace where she still existed.

"This?" Vivianna grabbed the locket. "Papa gave it to me when I was able to find something precious to me."

"Can I look inside?"

"No!" She turned away. "Not... not yet. Maybe if you find it precious like I do... then and only then will I show you. Idiot." She turned her head to give me a taunting smile.

"Humph, fine. Didn't want to see it anyway." I crossed my arms and walked away.

Did... did she think it was time?

"Listen, Klaydon. We need to regroup. Pull yourself together... Vi... Vivianna..."

"She wouldn't want me to quit. I know." I mumbled as I unfolded and regained what little of myself was left.

"Vivianna, she... she was..."

"I loved your daughter... Mr. Ryne, she reminded me how to be human."

"Mmmm. I can relate."

I blinked hard, a shiver ran down my back, a tear dragged the soot, and the blood stains with it, landing atop the hand that held her locket.

"Damn it!" Ryne punched the dashboard of the car, it flashed, now-recording on the screen, replacing the compass that pointed North. "Calling itself a God, coming for our city, ruining our peace, killing... How dare it!" His voice broke.

"Hey, pops, don't, I know you want to turn this rig around. But as you said, let's regroup, and plan better." In honesty, I wanted to go back, but... not to fight. I stared at the clouds below us as Vivanna's father cursed, gripping the wheel.

"This vehicle is equipped with a on-board recording program. Perform necessary procedures. Once completed please shut off the vehicle and restart to continue."

"Hey... p-pops, can I cr...?" My lips quivered, I clenched my left fist still holding the locket, and covered my face with my fist and my open palm. In my sorrow, the memory played back, it all happened in seconds, our failed attack, our packs jamming bringing gravity back, Ryne barely catching me and her.

Her slippery hands sliding through my grip as Ryne stepped on the accelerator, the abysmal sound of those iron rods zapping by as she fell. Those seconds etched deep in me, now residing wherever sorrow resided in the human heart.

"Yeah... y-yeah son, I can relate..."

We landed at a towering structure in Burlock, made of steel beams for hallways, and stairs ascending to iron rooms.

"Steel, those rods were made of materials mankind has to slave for to survive. And they use it as weapons?"

"Mmm, nothing in this world left can withstand those wretched storms. To use our only building resource as weapons is abhorrent."

Leader lifted an angry fist, and Scholar pondered at the wastefulness of our newfound enemy.

"We need to kill it." I protested. "NOW! We need to get up their with our tools and dismantle it. To slaughter its crew, to find who's responsible..."

"Quiet, Klaydon!" Our leader yelled. "I'm sorry for Vivianna. She was a good, hard worker." He lowered his head and signed. "What is our casuality?"

"33%. We are fortunate that machine moves at a pace of 1m every 2 hours. Estimated to reach our borders within 4 years. It's messenger drones seem docile."

"So, 15 workers. And we weren't even able to scratch the beast." Leader clawed into the iron table, his hands an even darker shade of white.

"Damn that machine! We need to bring it down, to burn the city that built it! To..."

"Ryne!" Leader yelled pointing a shaking finger at him. "They were all my family too. For now, we rest. Please let me... let me think."

"Klaydon, is that her's?" Scholar pointed at the heart-shaped silver locket I wore.

"Mmm. It's the only thing holding me together."

Scholar smiled. "Indeed, as it was for her. She locked away everything that empowered her in that small trinket."

His words pierced something inside of me. I didn't care about this city, or those that resided here besides Ryne, but the weight of his statement was unbearable. Vivanna was hurting, but what saved her? How did everybody know, but the man that was suppose to marry her.

The answer was one small button away, but I won't betray her trust, she didn't want me to see it, not till I loved what saved her. And I won't seek that out till I kill the beast that took her.

"Do we know who sent it?" Leader asked.

Scholar shook his head.

"Okay, I'll head to the city of order."

"But, Leader?" Ryne said.

"Hmm?"

"You'd head in that direction." Ryne nodded towards the south. "Let me go too."

I laid in the ruins of a long lost city. I met something... she... she knew me, asked how her father was, claimed she found true happiness.

I showed it the locket, speechless at the sight of her.

"Oh, that old thing? Idiot." She snickered. "The thing that saved me then, it could never bring me joy like The Silver God. He means the world to me."

I knew it wasn't her, it wasn't Vivanna. I learned what she loved.

She took a trip to my birth city, stole some of our ores from the game and sold it to them to implement their technology into her locket. When I opened it at the request of her father, my wires tensed, something I didn't expect.

She recorded a message that transmitted through my wires, her solem voice resounded inside of me. Nothing, nothing could bring her more happiness than Leader, Scholar, Ryne or the rest of Burlock, nothing but me. That wasn't her, that messenger of God.